Interview of Mr. Mohit Khandelwal : Advocate Rajasthan High Court.

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Interview of Mr. Mohit Khandelwal,

Advocate Rajasthan High Court.

Although the legal profession believes in the philosophy of old being the gold, yet the young talent can never go unnoticed. Today, I have the privilege to speak with the man who has set new milestones of hard work and success. He is not just a law graduate from Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab but also a qualified Company Secretary (CS) and an expert in forensic science. Along with being a gold medalist in criminal law, he has mappedhis journey with wins in several prestigious corporate law moots in India which includes moots like NUJS-HSF Moot Court Competition, Anti-trust Law Moot Court Competition, and NLU-D Insolvency Law Moot Court Competition. He has been awarded Corporate Lawyer of the Year Award, 2015 by the Institute of Company Secretaries and has also got his articles published in several reputed law journals.After creating several stories of success during the law school, he has recently started his legal practice as an Advocate in Rajasthan High Court, Jaipur and is all set to continue his journey of success. Let discuss various aspects of the legal profession and law school with him.

1. Sir, your interest in corporate law is evident from the above-mentioned introduction,but you chose traditional litigation over the corporate job, what were the reasons whichmotivated for the same?

Hi Manish….I completely agree with you that I have a keen interest in business laws and I have been deeply engaged in studying business laws during my law school. But I believe interest in corporate laws and joining a corporate firm are two separate things. Most of the corporate jobs involve long hours of desk job, restriction to a particular area of law and most importantly, less opportunity to appear in court. On the other hand, litigation involves an understanding of diverse areas of law, more focus on the application of the law in the realtime situation and most importantly, the skill to convince the judge and the client. Though I have got the opportunity to work with several good law firms but litigation has always attracted my focus.

2. You have done additional courses and diplomas during your time at law school.
Would you recommend the current law students to take up some additional courses
during their time at college?

As I have already mentioned that practicing in law does not only need an understanding of statutory provisions but also a greater understanding of the factual situation and evidence available to prove and dis-prove a particular fact. For example, in order to specialize in the field of commercial litigation, a lawyer must have the understanding of financial statements and other accounting aspects, similarly, a criminal lawyer must have the understanding of
forensic science. Thus, pursuing these additional courses helps to fill up all the gaps and make yourselves efficient in all manner. Also, courses like CS, CA and other reputed diploma courses help you in improving your CV and makes it easy to secure internships and placements in law firms. Thus, I believe that if a law student is willing to specialize in a
particular area of practice, then he must consider pursuing some additional courses to gain expertise in that field.

3. Sir, you have won Corporate Lawyer of the Year Award along with three prestigious
moots of the country. What does it feel like to win an award and what are the main
areas of your expertise as you feel like?

It is always good to win something resulting from your hard work but I believe that moot is not just about winning but an unforgettable learning experience which a young budding lawyer would always think of having. Every moot teaches you a different way of argumentation as it varies from law to law, from bench to bench and it is just equivalent to what is required in actual litigation. Though the complications involved in actual litigation
are much more than a moot court but I must say that it gives you a trailer of what you are going to face in the real court.

4. What is your advice to all the students and what is your SUCCESS MANTRA?

I believe that if one has an unconquerable will to win, then come what may, his/her hard work will fructify in success. In a career like law, especially for those who wish to pursue litigation, perseverance and resilience are the most important tools. Thus, in my belief, hard work, confidence, humility, and a curiosity to learn coupled with perseverance, resilience and unconquerable will to win is the key to success.

5. You have also given a lot of importance to research article writing during your law
school and you are still continuing with it, what role do these articles play in the success
of any lawyer?

Reading provision of any law is one thing and understanding it thoroughly another. Research articles not only require a detailed understanding of any aspect of law but also involves its critical evaluation. They depict the mindset of the author and are the best way to improve legal drafting. I believe that a legal professional must be proficient in both arguing and drafting and for this a law student should equally focus on mooting and writing research
articles. I also accept that winning a moot might at times depend on luck but the publication of a research article is entirely dependent on the quality of an article. Also, research articles are equally important to secure a placement or for pursuing masters from any prominent law school.

6. As you are presently also working as an advocate in Rajasthan High Court. How
difficult it is to start legal practice and what is your area of expertise?

I specialize in matters relating to company law, insolvency and corporate crimes. I have to admit that when it comes to legal practice initial years would always bring up a lot of challenges and hurdles, however, the success is entirely dependent on the perspective of the lawyer. Good command of law can help a young lawyer to get success in the shorter span of time.